After Before the Chaos
by KogameYutari
Summary: 3 years after Advent Children-- A disaster strikes Midgar, but is it really a natural disaster?
1. 3 Years

I little ff7 thing I decided to do. Hope this one actually gets noticed :3 this is 3 years after Advent Children, so it's purely fiction.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FF7 OR THE CHARACTERS IN SAID GAME

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Chapter 1: 3 Years...

"Hello, Strife Delivery Service. You name it, we deliver it," echoed a voice after an annoying ringing was ceased. "Hello?" the voice asked. The voice belonged to Tifa Lockheart, who was mildly known by friends all over the world, more so for one person in particular. "Huh...," she muttered and placed the phone back onto the receiver.

"Who was it?" asked a boy with brown hair, curly-ish hair. This was Denzel, one of the two orphans that lived with Tifa, and occasionally another person.

"I dunno, they didn't answer," Tifa told him, shrugging.

"Woah, that's kinda creepy," said a girl behind Denzel, a girl that was slightly younger than him and wore a red ribbon in her light-brown hair. This was Marlene, the second member of Tifa's 'family'.

"I bet it's the ghost of Sephiroth coming to take revenge!" Denzel joked, laughing at Marlene's yelp of fear.

"Not funny, Denzel!" Marlene shouted, her hands balling into fists.

"She's right, Denzel, Sephiroth is no joke," Tifa said as she went past the two, rubbing Denzel on the head.

Denzel blushed and pouted, shrugging slightly. "It was only a joke," he muttered, sighing as Marlene giggled at his embarrassment.

"Come on, Denzel! You're a big boy now, right?" Tifa asked and laughed as she disappeared down the hall.

After Marlene was sure Tifa was gone, she turned to Denzel. "Say, Denzel?" she asked, her laughing subsiding.

"Yeah?" Denzel answered, looking to her curiously.

"You think Tifa misses Cloud?" Marlene questioned, crossing her arms.

"Of course, we all miss him," Denzel said, placing both of his hands in his pockets as they both made their way to his room.

"I mean, more than us. Do you think..," Marlene paused and leaned in to whisper, "Tifa likes Cloud?"

"You mean, like as in love?" Denzel asked back, also lowering his voice, "I dunno, I just thought they were good friends."

"Maybe so, but... we haven't seen Cloud in like a... year," Marlene stated sadly, sitting on Denzel's bed.

"yeah, since he said he had to go somewhere. I wonder where he ended up going..," Denzel muttered, leaning on the wall close to the door.

Suddenly, the jingling bell of the front door cut the two out of the tense conversation.

"Could it be-" yelled Marlene, running toward the staircase. She stopped short on the fifth step when she realized it was only a costumer.

"Gee, Marlene. Why do you do that every time we have a costumer?" Tifa asked as she slowly went down the stairs, wearing that fake smile Marlene always noticed. She knew that Tifa, every time that bell was heard, wished and hoped it was Cloud. It never was, and as Tifa went down the stairs, she always wore that false smile, hiding her heartache.

Marlene sighed and held the end of her dress. She tightened her fists with determination and walked up stairs towards the phone. She picked it up, but her hand hesitated over the dials.

"What are you doing, Marlene?!" Denzel asked, grabbing her wrist to the hand that held the phone.

"Let go! I'm gonna call Cloud!" Marlene shouted, trying to free her hand.

"We're not supposed to use the phone, Marlene! And do you really think he'll answer you?! If he does, what will you say? What could you possibly say to get him to come back?!" Denzel yelled, swiping the phone from her hand and replacing it back into it's slot.

"But!" Marlene screeched, tears forming at the edges of her eyes, "We have to try, Denzel! Please.... Just let me try!"

Denzel stopped and sighed, letting go of her wrist. "Fine, but only one try! Got it?" he asked, stepping back a few inches.

Marlene smiled at how easy that was and grabbed the phone back. "Alright, one try," she said and held up one finger. She dialed in the number and waited as it rung...


	2. Sightseeing

Chapter 2: Sightseeing

The wind was rough, the dust even more so. The sun shown on a black motorcycle in the wasteland, going as fast as anyone could imagine. A person, probably around twenty-six, was riding this peace of work. Some would call him a shady kind of person, dressed in odd black clothes. This man was none other than Cloud Strife, and most knew him quite well because of his great journey five years ago.

A year in the past, he had left a place called Midgar to do something he really needed to do. Though, he left for more reasons than that. He was taking care of many more things than what he said, not to mention he had already done that one thing. To tell the truth, he wasn't sure he'd ever go back to Midgar.

These thoughts circled his head over and over. I'll never see them again, I suppose, he thought, clutching his head as it began to hurt slightly. He gripped the handle bars out of frustration, his arms shaking slightly. He began to see his destination in the distance, and it was a good thing too, for he felt rather dizzy.

He steered the bike sideways and activated the breaks while kicking down the stand. The sudden stop brought up a huge cloud of dust as the rubber slid across the cracked earth. The bike came to an absolute stop in front of an old house with a few dying flowers on both sides of the stairs that led to the porch. It was obviously quite old, but it matched the person who owned it quite well.

Cloud lifted himself off the bike and brushed the dust off of his clothes. His boots stomped heavily upon the wood of the old, creaking porch, the silent breeze moving his blond, spiky hair slowly. he raised a gloved hand and knocked on the door quietly.

"I'll be right there!" called a shaky voice. The knob turned and the door creaked open to reveal an old man, possibly in the one-hundred. "Ah, Cloud! I've been expecting you," he said, stepping to the side to let Cloud in.

He nodded and pushed up his goggles. He sat in one of the old chairs that decorated the dusty living room. "So, you said you wanted to talk to me, Mr...?"

"Ah! Albotress, Mr. Albotress! And yes, I needed to talk to you about something I saw," the man said, his limb shaking heavily as he closed the door.

"Saw? What do you mean?" Cloud asked, fiddling with an old lamp. So far, he wasn't particularly interested yet. What could this old geezer have to say that was so important anyways? Had he spotted something unusual in the sky or something?

"Ah, you see, I can see the future or the past," Albotress said in a weird fashion.

Great, another loon interested in telling me their hallucinations, Cloud thought and sighed.

"You see, I saw something rather demented in the near future," Albotress said, making weird hand gestures as he talked.

"The near future? Hope this isn't bad news," Cloud grunted sarcastically, leaning on the chair's arm.

Albotress sighed as well, drumming his fingers upon the desktop. "It's hard to explain. You see, what I saw was that the Planet was shaking, as if terrified of something. Right off the bat, I could tell it was some sort of natural disaster, earthquake maybe? Anyways, it was happening in this rather dirty town with a bunch of people in it. Then again, to me, all these cities look alike," he mumbled and threw a non-caring hand into the air.

"Dirtied streets..... how many people would you say you saw?" Cloud asked, sitting up, now interested and slightly worried.

"Oh, maybe a few hundred. It was a lot, and there was also some sort of weird monument they were rebuilding," Albotress said, rubbing his chin.

Monument.. the Shinra Monument!? Cloud thought as his hand tightly gripped the edge of the chair's arm. "Would this city maybe called.... Midgar?"

Albotress shook and nodded his head as if trying to remember the names of cities, "I believe so..., and I have no clue in the time of the earthquake, all I know is that it's drawing nearer. Hell! It could be already happening for all we know!"

Cloud felt sweat beading down his face, his muscles tensed. What if this man wasn't so much the whack job? What if an earthquake really did or was going to happen? He suddenly stood up and looked to the door. "I need to go..," he said and stepped towards the exit.

"Wait!" shouted Albotress, holding out a quivering hand, "There's so much more I must tell you, Cloud!" Cloud stopped, and silence engulfed the room. Until a ring when off in the house, over and over.

Cloud took in a deep breath and took his phone out, glancing to the number. This.. It's Tifa's number.., he thought as his heart pounded heavily. In a quick decision, he flipped it open and rose it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked, fearful about what kind of tone he would hear on the other end.

"Cloud!" shouted a small voice, Marlene's? In the background, he could hear a boy say 'Huh, he answered'. yeah, so it was only those two.

"What? Kinda busy," Cloud said in his normal careless tone.

"I know you're busy, but could you maybe... visit us soon? We all miss you, especially Tifa," Marlene told him, though he could barely understand her though the scratchy reception.

"I dunno if I can..," Cloud muttered, looking to the old troubled man, He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'll try, 'k Marlene?"

"Ok, Cloud!!" Marlene shouted excitedly. Before she loudly hung up, he heard her say, "Tifa, guess what!"

Cloud grunted and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He adjusted his goggles back over his eyes and opened the door. "Sorry, I've got to go somewhere..," he told Albotress.

"They live in Midgar, don't they?" Albotress asked. Seeing a slight nod from the boy, he placed his hand back on his lap. "I understand. Family is important, even if it's made up of friends. Safe traveling, Cloud, and I hope you make it to Midgar with plenty of time to spare!"

Cloud, who was already outside, nodded back to the man and kicked the stand back. "I'll try," he answered and climbed onto the seat, starting the motor. "I'll see ya later," he said and sped off, leaving a trail of dust.

"Dag nabbit! He left the door open!" Albotress muttered and stood up with a groan. "Makin' an old man use his achin' muscles just to shut the door!" he grumbled and slammed the door shut...


	3. Day of Disaster

Chapter 3: Day of destruction

"Tifa, guess what!" Marlene yelled excitedly, rushing down the stairs.

Tifa put her hand on Marlene's shoulder to stop her, "Slow down, Marlene, I wouldn't want you to fall. Now, what is it that you want to tell me?" she asked and smiled.

"Cloud's coming to visit!" Marlene shouted with joy, jumping up and down.

"No, he said he'd try, Marlene," Denzel added as he slowly descended the stairs.

"Same thing!" Marlene stated, placing the backs of her hands on her hips.

"No it's not!" Denzel argued as he reached the bottom of the staircase.

"What? Did you use the phone, Marlene? You know you're not supposed to," Tifa said, rubbing Marlene's head.

"But Tifa! Cloud said-" Marlene bursted out before Tifa cut her off.

"Like Denzel said, when Cloud says he'll try, that usually means no," she said and went over to the counter, gazing out the window. "Besides, it's getting dark, you two. You need to go upstairs before the night crowd rolls in," she said and shooed the two up the stairs. Since she ran a bar it was dangerous to let Denzel and Marlene downstairs at night.

"B-but Tifa!!" Marlene whined as she was slowly forced upstairs.

"No buts! I can't have you hanging around drunkies!" Tifa yelled and pushed them the rest of the way up. "Hang out in your rooms until bedtime, k?" she asked, smiling her sweet smile.

"ok. Come on Marlene!" Denzel answered and grabbed Marlene's hand, pulling her the rest of the way to her room. When they made it, Denzel shut the door and let Marlene's hand go.

"Denzel! Tifa doesn't believe he'll come, but I-"

"Enough Marlene!" Denzel shouted, having quite the fierce look, "Cloud's not coming, and it's high time for you to stop depending on him!"

Marlene, who was on the verge of tears, glared at Denzel. "You were wrong about him answering his phone, weren't you!? I know he'll come, I just know it!" she yelled, stomping a foot on the floor as her hands balled into fists again.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Marlene! But I'm moving on and taking care of myself!" Denzel stated, opening her door and walking out, "Marlene, make a choice! Fantasy or real life, our life," he said sternly, shutting the door back.

Marlene, now alone, collapsed onto her bed, tears streaming down her face. "He'll come, I know it..," she kept whispering to herself, hugging her pillow as she began to hiccup.

As she cried, she began to feel a slight shaking, Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, her expression alert. "What the..?" she questioned and sat up off her bed, standing up. The shaking got worse every minute, and as the rumbling got louder, Marlene knew what this was.

She went to the window and gazed out. It seemed as if the whole city was falling apart, and it probably was, little by little. "Tifa, it's-" she yelled until a booming sound cut her off, the whole house shaking terribly. After the boom, she heard some of the house's structure beams brake. That terrifying sound of wood braking in two may have been the scariest noise she had ever heard.

Another boom sounded, the trembling of the house had knocked her off her feet this time. She screamed as she fell, hitting her head on the wall with a solid crack. "Aaaahh!" she yelped, holding the back of her head in anguish.

"Marlene!" shouted a terrified, yet worried, voice.

_--Denzel--_

Outside Marlene's door, stood Denzel. A wooden plank and a bit of other debris blocked the way to her door.

He struggled to remove the plank, but it only budged slightly. "Marlene!!" he screamed, feeling a rush of adrenaline. "Come on..," he growled and gritted his teeth as he tried to pull with greater force.

The ground rumbled, tossing the structures of the house sideways. Along with the house, Denzel was tossed toward the wall, but he didn't let go of the plank. With a great force, the plank broke in half, sending splinters into Denzel's hands and one of the halves cutting his arm. He didn't notice either of these inconveniences, for now he could get to Marlene's door.

He sprang to his feet and grabbed the knob, pulling on it with all of his strength. To his relief, the door began to open and eventually made a big enough crack for him to squeeze through. "Marlene? Marlene!" he yelled, making his way through the rubble. Seeing a head at the opposite end of the room, he sped up. "Marlene!" he screamed when he got to her, getting down on his knees.

"Denzel!" Marlene cried, still holding her head with one hand as the other grabbed Denzel's arm.

"Come on, Marlene! We need to get out of here!" Denzel yelled over the rumbling and screaming of the panicked people outside.

"What about Tifa?" Marlene yelped.

"I dunno, but we have to go downstairs anyway, so-"

"She's not hurt, right?" Marlene whined, grabbing onto Denzel's sleeve.

He looked to her, then the scattered pieces of wood from the ceiling and holes from where wood broke and fell to the base floor below. "I hope not," he whispered, helping Marlene up.

With Marlene by his side, Denzel moved forward and squeezed through the door again, running down the hall. Their bare feet were penetrated by shattered wood and glass, but they didn't stop until they reached the stairs.

The staircase was broken, some of the stairs halved, some completely demolished, and some that looked unstable. Debzel gulped and took a step further, flinching at each cracking sound. He could feel Marlene's hand trembling, though he had no way of comforting her, for he was shaking as well.

As they slowly moved their bleeding feet, they heard another boom.

The tremor knocked them sideways, slamming them into the railing. The maple wood snapped under their weight, causing them to tumble forward, falling onto the dirtied floor below.

Marlene shook her head and trembled as she stood. "T-Tifa?" she screeched, her voice scratchy and quiet.

Denzel sat up on his knees, holding his stomach as her coughed, dust from their fall choking him a bit.

Besides Denzel coughing and the screams of civilians, Marlene could hear some sort of harsh breathing. "Tifa?!" she yelled in to the room, creeping toward the noise. She stumbled over a few pieces of many varieties of material, until she noticed a big hole in the ceiling that led to Denzel's bedroom. Now she was immensely worried, pushing herself farther.

Whebn she looked where the floor above fell, she became horrified. "TIFA!!" she screamed, rushing forward.

Tifa was in sight, and it wasn't a pretty one. A plank had Tifa's arm pinned down, a support beam had impaled her in the stomach near her waist, and iother debris held down her waist and below. "Marlene..," she groaned.

"Tifa!!!" Marlene yelled, running over to Tifa's outstretched arm.

Denzel, who just caught up with Marlene, gasped, grabbing Marlene's shoulders as she fell to her knees. "Tifa!" he yelled.

"Get out... you two... You have.. to get out of... Midgar," Tifa choked out, talking in between gasps of air.

"Come on Marlene! We gotta get out!" Denzel shouted, pulling Marlene's shoulders backward, tears he was trying to hold back formed on the rims of his eyes.

Tears streamed down Marlene's face, her hiccups resurfacing. "TIFA!!!!!!!" she cried as she was pulled out of the house. Cloud! Help Tifa! Please... I'm begging you! she thought as Denzel shut the door.

The two ran past screaming people and demolished houses. Midgar was trashed, and no building was left standing. As they ran, they both thought they spotted a spiky, blond head out of the crowd. Denzel glared and picked up speed, while Marlene gazed in hope and happiness, but was forced forward.

_--Tifa--_

Tifa smiled as the two left, she hoped they would be safe. She lifted her free hand and grabbed the thick would protruding from her side. She couldn't see it, but she didn't exactly want to either.

What if Cloud did come? What if he was too late? She hoped he would keep his promise if so...

_--year before--_

_It was the day Cloud was leaving, and Tifa knew she couldn't stop him, but..._

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled, grabbing his hand. "Wait, I need to tell you something," she said and smiled as he turned around. "I wanna make a promise."

"Promise?" Cloud asked, turning fully around.

"I want you to promise.... if I die, don't blame yourself! 'K?" Tifa asked, grinning widely.

Cloud slowly nodded, then sighed. "I hope I don't have to keep it," he said and smiled as Tifa giggled.

"Remember it!" Tifa said sternly, letting off a gentle tone, "Right! Happy traveling, then!" she said as her last words to him and let go of his hand...


	4. Too Late?

Cloud had made it about one-hundred miles, but still had about fifty to go. What was worse was that he had made it to the plains, which slowed him down significantly.

"Dammit! I won't make it," he growled, tightening his grip on the handles. He took out his phone and glanced at the past calls. He sighed and went to Tifa's number, his mind pending on whether to call or not. With a defeated look, he pressed the 'call' button and waited. There was a long pause, then a voice.

"Hello, we are unable to connect your call. Either the number you dialed is unauthorized or disconne-" stated a robotic voice before Cloud shut his phone.

"Shit!" he yelled in frustration, shoving the phone back into his pocket. He could have cursed more, but he was too worried to care.

Twenty-five miles. Twenty miles. He was getting more nervous as he neared Midgar. As he saw the city over the next few miles, he noticed no buildings stood over the height of the city boundaries. He felt his heart beating right out of his chest. He could hear screams and crashes sounding throughout the city. Now all he could do was hope that they were safe.

The screaming became louder and louder as the boundaries of Midgar got nearer. He rode into town, people separating to let him through. He glanced around him at the horrible sight he was faced with. People were crying over the dead under buildings, the already poor now homeless and injured, wandering around the streets. He thought he saw two familiar faces, but shook it off. The streets were lined with injured citizens, and as he went, Cloud felt his hope dwindle away.

Right when he spotted '7th Heaven', he saw the destruction it had endured. It's support beams were near the break point, and most of the upper floor had fell to the space below. _Please be alright_, he thought and rushed off his bike and into the destroyed bar. "Tifa? Marlene? Denzel?" he shouted in the what seemed an empty store. He stumbled around debris of of wood, glass, porcelain, all kinds of materiel, but he couldn't find any sign of life.

He walked to find the demolished stairs, then looked to the floor. He spotted something interesting: bloody footprints. His heart lurched sharply as he decided to follow them. He reached a pool of blood, then the footsteps led outside, led by slightly larger footprints. _They're too small to be Tifa's_, he thought with panic, looking around until he saw an outstretched arm in his peripheral vision. He ran over to it and felt the wrist._ Still a pulse..._, he thought, but wasn't at ease just yet. He looked to a pile of wood that had fallen from the ceiling of the second floor. He began hastily removing the pieces of wood until just a few remained.

"Tifa!" he yelled. "Please, hold on," he whispered and looked her over. He now knew where the blood was coming from, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to get it out. He stood up and ran outside to the bike, getting his sword out of a hidden spot. He then kicked the compartment shut and raced back into the bar. He lifted the sword and began to saw the wood protruding from her side. He successfully cut it to where it stood a foot out of her, so he could at least move her to a safer spot. Trying to remove something like that was even more dangerous in a building that was on the verge of collapsing.

"You... came," Tifa groaned, smiling slightly with her eyes closed.

"Talking might make it worse," Cloud warned, trying to find a way to gently pick her up without moving the wood too much.

"You remember... that promise?" Tifa choked out, still grinning.

"I won't let that happen, Tifa," Cloud said sternly, lifting her head up slowly.

"I'm not.... so sure.. I'll make it this time," Tifa said, lifting her arm and slinging it around Cloud's neck.

"Please, don't say that," Cloud replied and delicately lifted her body from the ground.

"Well, I don't... feel all that... optimistic..," Tifa groaned, laughing quietly.

"You're laughing, aren't you?" Cloud mentioned as an attempt to raise her spirit.

"True..," Tifa muttered, opening her eyes slowly. With her eyes open, she saw the destruction the earthquake brought, then began thinking. "Hey, Cloud?... What made you come?"

Cloud remained silent as he carried her, making it to a place that seemed stable, at least long enough to help Tifa to his fullest ability.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked suspiciously as he slowly leaned her against the wall.

Cloud, now ignoring Tifa, looked for something to help him remove the wood in her side. Sighing after he realized he'd have to take it out by hand, he sat to her side and leaned in close to get a better look at the protruding beam. He could tell this wouldn't be much fun, for neither him or Tifa.

Tifa, joining in his sigh, relaxed her body and closed her eyes. _He won't answer me for a while.._, she thought, then opened her eyes to look to the side.

Making sure his gloves were on tightly, he got a grip on the wood with one hand, placing his other hand on her stomach to keep her from moving too much. _Would it be better to take it out fast or slow? Slow would be better, not as many risks, but that will take up more time and cause Tifa even more pain. Then again, if I do it fast, I could just end up hurting her even more..._, he thought, trying to decide on something. With his hand shaky at the thought he'd hurt her more, he started pulling upward on the object.

Cloud felt Tifa grab his shoulder tightly in an attempt to forcefully silence her scream of agony, and she was doing a pretty good job of that. Cloud deeply breathed in and pulled a little bit faster, but not too much, still in fear of causing her more harm. After a while, he was relieved to almost have the thing out, he was also glad that Tifa seemed to be having an easier time copping with the pain, seeing as he could finally feel the blood circulate through his arm once again.

A few minutes passed, and he jerked out the tiny piece of the object that was still lodged in her, for he didn't think that small of a piece could hurt her, especially since it was near the surface anyway. He heard Tifa let out a sigh of relief, sensing that it was finally over. Cloud couldn't imagine how that could have felt, maybe something like a giant splinter in your side? Didn't sound too comfortable, and he knew it wasn't, and that's all he _needed_ to know.

Cloud now looked around for cloth to put on the wound. I would look for something, but I can't just leave Tifa, he thought. He placed his hand on her wound and pressed down, using his sleeve to patch up the wound on her back. It was hard to block both wounds, but bhe managed. "This will have to do until I can find something to cover it officially," he said and sat next to her, sighing.

Tifa groaned at the pressure, but settled down shortly afterword. "Are you hiding something, Cloud?"

Cloud shook his head, looking down to the cracked cement below. "No, it's nothing," he told her.

"Then tell me... why you came," Tifa stated, leaning sideways on Cloud's shoulder. "After all this time... why did you decide to come _now_?"

"Because Marlene asked me to," Cloud stated, looking to the side opposite of Tifa.

"Is that the truth, Cloud?" Tifa asked, closing her eyes.

"...... Yeah," Cloud answered slowly, his head beginning to feel dizzy again.

"Really?" Tifa egged on, leaning in closer.

Cloud remained silent as Tifa waited for an answer.

"Well?" she pressed, placing her hand on his that covered the gash on her side. "So that's it..," she mumbled.

"...." Cloud still didn't utter a word, but his hand flinched slightly from the sudden contact. "Just rest, ok? You need it," he finally told her, avoiding the question yet again.......


End file.
